February 21, 2018 AT 1:00 am

How to Make an Astronaut Happy With a Suit #WearableWednesday #wearabletech #Arduino #NASA #space

According to Florida Polytechnic University, a team is working on a Happy Suit for astronauts, better known as a Smart Sensory Skin (S3). The suit will be able to monitor an astronaut’s emotional state and create an intervention.

The new technology will detect emotional and physical deficiencies in astronauts through wireless sensors that will then send an immediate response to improve the “atmosphere”, and adjust the astronauts’ environment to fit their individual needs. The adjustments include changes in temperature, light exposure, light color, and oxygen levels.

Some monitoring already exists for astronauts today, but apparently it is passive, which means doctors review the information before any help can be given. This new system will also have other benefits.

The S3 will be a step forward by making it an active technology, also lighter and more ergonomic, increasing mission effectiveness by reducing distractions.

The school received a grant from NASA for the project and is working in conjunction with professor Saman Sargolzaei at UCLA. This is a great example of a STEM project using Arduino for wearables. If you are a teacher that would like to explore this technology in your class, check out our learning guide for the Flora microcontroller, a stitchable solution for adding sensors and lights to clothing. What kind of spacesuit would you like to invent?